Although much more remains to be accomplished, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) made good progress on its Rural Jobs Agenda during Maryland General Assembly’s 2013 Legislative Session.
ESLC’s legislative agenda focused on specific state actions to help improve rural communities through strengthening towns as economic hubs, investing in rural lands, and growing rural opportunities through energy innovations. Some agenda items included support of the Sustainable Communities Tax Credit, the creation of the Eastern Shore Conservation Center, the State Teleworking bill, the Community Renewable Energy Generation bill, and the offshore wind energy bill.
The passage of the offshore wind energy bill over the next 20 years could lead to the creation of more than 15,000 jobs, many of which will be based on the Eastern Shore. In addition to the items listed in the Rural Jobs Agenda, ESLC also supported and saw the passage of HB 797 — the Transportation Projects Water Access bill, which could increase the number of water access sites around bridges and other state infrastructure so people can take full advantage of Maryland’s waterways.
“The biggest challenges we faced during this legislative session were the millions of dollars in proposed cuts to Program Open Space, MALPF and Rural Legacy funds” said ESLC Executive Director Rob Etgen. “The Department of Legislative Services’ recommended cuts were overwhelmingly rejected by members of the General Assembly, and we were proud to hear the members’ enthusiasm when it came to protecting our farms, parks and rural lands.”
ESLC is in the process of securing funds to create the Eastern Shore Conservation Center, a nonprofit complex in neighboring vacant historic buildings in downtown Easton.
“We also are proud of the Governor’s support of the Eastern Shore through his capital budget appropriation of $1 million toward the creation of the Eastern Shore Conservation Center in Easton.”
Not all of ESLC’s efforts moved forward. The Community Renewable Energy Generation bill did not pass. “It was sad to see the Community Renewable Energy Generation bill fail because it could be a game-changer for smaller neighboring farm operations that wish to dramatically bring down energy costs though a shared facility,” said ESLC Policy Manager Josh Hastings.
The Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 was passed into law, as was SB 27- the extension of the Chesapeake Conservation Corps Program, both of which ESLC counts as progress toward sustainability.
For the 2014 Legislative Session, ESLC looks forward to promoting more actions that could strengthen rural Maryland, including full funding of the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund, restored Rural Legacy Area funding, restored Maryland Heritage Area funding, and the passage of the Community Renewable Energy Generation bill.
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